Epidemiology of Vitiligo - A Dual Population-Based Approach

Most epidemiological data on vitiligo refer to selected environments or focus on the prevalence of comorbidity unrelated to the population.

Aim of the study was to gain robust representative prevalence data on vitiligo and on associated dermatologic comorbidity in the German adult population.

A dual population-based approach was applied with 1) primary data obtained between 2004 and 2014 from dermatological exams in the general working population; 2) claims data from a large German statutory health insurance, reference year 2010.

In the working cohort (N = 121,783; 57% male; mean age 43 years), the prevalence of vitiligo was 0.77% (0.84% in men; 0.67% in women). In the claims data (N = 1,619,678; 38% male; mean age 46 years), prevalence was 0.17% (0.14% in men; 0.18% in women). In the working cohort, vitiligo was significantly more common in people with fair skin type, ephelides and port-wine stains and less common in people with acne and solar lentigines. In the claims data, vitiligo was associated with a variety of skin conditions, eg, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and alopecia areata.

The resulting discrepancy of claims vs primary data between 0.17% and 0.77% indicates the most probable spectrum of vitiligo prevalence in Germany. It is more frequently observed in clinical exams than recorded in claims data, indicating a marked proportion of people seeking no medical help. Such nonattendance may result from the fact that many treatment options do not provide satisfying benefits to the patients.